Growing ZucchiniProlific and NutritiousIf you want nutritious vegetables that produce prolifically, growing zucchini is the way to grow. (Gnomes love puns!) Growing summer squash, or zucchini, is one of the easiest gardening tasks for a vegetable gardener. Zucchini is a warm season vegetable, and will grow ceaselessly, producing as many as two or three zucchini a day.
Planting ZucchiniAs with all members of the squash family, zucchini is susceptible to some pest and disease problems, and does require care for healthiest plant growth. So here is how to grow zucchini well.Zucchini, a heat lover, will not germinate or grow until temperatures are at least 70 to 79 degrees. It grows best in temperatures of 65 to 75 degrees, and does best when directly planted in the garden from seed.
Here are some great seed sources:Gurney's Seed and Nursery
Gently cut the bottoms from the pots before transplanting. Otherwise, plant them undisturbed. All squash vines need a lot of room to grow, and should be spaced about two to three feet apart. If you want to reduce weeding (sorry, your friendly gnome will be weeding his own garden, and can’t help you with yours), you can plant celery, corn, or radishes in between the growing zucchini vines. All three are good companions to zucchini, and will enhance their productivity. Also, they will shade the soil and prevent weeds from sprouting while the squash vines grow. They will be ready to harvest before the squash vines completely cover the area where they grow. If you want to grow summer squash in a small space, you can train the vines up a trellis. Tie them every couple of feet with cotton cloth as they climb. Growing Zucchini In Containers
Zucchini can easily be grown in containers on the patio or anywhere in the yard that gets full sun. Because they need a lot of water and nourishment, they need a large container, though – 5 to 8 gallons per plant. I like to use 18-gallon plastic containers and put two plants in each one. I discovered a new variety, Sultan, which does not require pollination to produce fruit. So, I can now grow Zucchini in the greenhouse nearly year around (above right). I harvested my first Zucchini from the greenhouse in Mid-April, a record for the Pacific Northwest. Seasonal CareZucchini is a fairly low-maintenance plant if you prepare the soil well before planting. The vines are heavy feeders, so they love it when you add lots of compost and organic matter before planting the plants in the garden. Work in a cup of balanced organic fertilizer into the top 4 to 6 inches of soil in each hill.Because they grow so fast, the vines require lots of water to stay healthy. Water deeply at least once or twice each week. Once they begin producing, you need to harvest the plants every day. I can’t tell you the number of times I have been walking through the garden, and I see zucchinis the size of baseball bats hiding among the leaves! These zucchinis are good for nothing but a gnome canoe when they reach such a large size. Actually, you can use overgrown zucchini by scooping out the seed cavity and baking them with a stuffing in them, bread, rice of meat stuffing work great. Marta also grates the big zukes and uses the gratings to make zucchini bread – yum! It is important to check under the leaves every day to make sure you pick squash when they are still tender and fresh. They are best when picked before they reach 8” in length with a 1 ½ “ diameter. When Pests AttackIf you give your squash plants good care, they will be less likely to have problems. Pests much prefer to attack sick and under nourished plants that are typically higher in sugar content. However, out of many different plants, squash vines have the most problems with fungus and insects. There are a couple of ways to combat insect problems. Visit our Organic Pest Control section.To limit your losses, don’t plant all the squash in one location in the garden. Spread them around. If the insects find one group of plants, they might not find the other group. For the most part, you can usually harvest your fill of zucchinis before pests attack. At that point, you can move on to eating another seasonal vegetable. Don’t let bugs scare you away from growing zucchini! Happy gardening,Geefrank
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If you are growing zucchini in a cooler climate and need a jump on the season, you can start seeds indoors between 14 to 24 days before the last frost. Squash vines do not like their roots to be disturbed, so they are best planted in peat pots or other biodegradable pots that can be planted directly into the ground and will decompose. 
